CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Three Gulf Coast students were among 7,460 May graduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Commencement for all graduates is held in the spring.

The students are Mark M. Ogren of Daphne, Rachel Dozier-Ezell of Orange Beach and Jessica L. Elmore of Mobile.

—University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A total of 128 students in Huntingdon College’s traditional day program completed their Bachelor of Arts degrees and graduated as members of the class of 2008.

Joseph Paul Patterson, whose major was communication studies, earned his degree during the ceremony.      

Founded in 1854, Huntingdon is a coeducational liberal arts college. The college’s motto is, “Enter to grow in wisdom; go forth to apply wisdom in service.” 

— Su Ofe

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Many area residents were named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. They include, by town:

To qualify for the honor, a law student must have earned a minimum 3.0 grade point average out of a possible 4.0 while attempting at least 10 credit hours of coursework.

—Mary L. Wimberley

The last group of National Merit Scholar designees to be announced in 2008 by National Merit Scholarship Corporation includes a Daphne student.

Charles M. Hoequist, an Alabama School of Mathematics and Science graduate, with a probable career field in physics, earned the National Merit Scholarship for the University of Florida.

About 8,300 students were named National Merit Scholars this year. These distinguished high school graduates will receive scholarships for undergraduate study worth a total of approximately $36 million.

In addition to college-sponsored awards, two other types of National Merit Scholarships were offered: 2,500 National Merit $2500 scholarships for which all finalists competed, and about 1,100 corporate-sponsored scholarship awards for finalists who met criteria specified by their grantor organizations.

— Elaine Detweiler